Probation scam could land Ft. Bend man in jail

It was a pretty sweet deal for Fort Bend County probationers: Anthony Palacios would take them out for community service, and if they paid him, he'd let them skip out on their probation for a while. Unfortunately for Palacios, it was also illegal: Now, Palacios has been charged with commercial bribery and could wind up in jail himself.

Police started looking into Palacios's operation after they got a tip about what he was doing. He worked as a driver for the Fort Bend Women's Center, making deliveries to thrift stores in Stafford and Richmond — and that's what he would suppoedly get probationers to help with. If they paid him enough, Palacios would let the probationers leave for the day and give them credit for the community service hours. (We assume if they couldn't pay, they actually had to do community service. Life is so unfair.)

Fort Bend County sheriff's officers arrested Palacios on Wednesday. He now faces up to two years in jail — and we bet he won't find someone who'll let him skip out on it.